Category Archives: House of Representatives

Joe Manchin voices ‘serious concerns’ about $3.5tn budget after Senate approval – live

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Joe Biden held a virtual meeting today with business, university and healthcare leaders to discuss strategies to get more Americans vaccinated against coronavirus.

The meeting included the CEOs of Kaiser Permanente, United Airlines and DESA, Inc., as well as the president of Howard University. All four have already announced vaccine requirements for their employees or students.

The Centers for Disease Control (CDC) and Prevention said on Wednesday that pregnant women should get vaccinated after an analysis of data that showed no increased risk of miscarriage among women who received it.

The advice comes as hospitals in hot spots around the US are see disturbing numbers of unvaccinated mothers-to-be seriously ill with the virus, the Associated Press reports.

Related: CDC urges pregnant women to get Covid vaccine, finding no increased risk of miscarriage

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Biden predicts ‘infrastructure decade’ as Senate passes bipartisan bill – live

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The $1tn infrastructure bill that passed the Senate takes some steps toward addressing the climate crisis and building resiliency – through environmental activists and progressive Democrats say it falls short. In California, where global heating has helped fuel extreme wildfires, Dani Anguiano reports on the devastation of the Dixie fire:

After weeks of fire, smoke and warnings, Kimberly Price’s beloved hometown had run out of time.

With wind driving the Dixie fire directly into Greenville, Price’s longtime partner, John Hunter, told her she needed to leave. Price, 58, had spent most of her life in the close-knit Sierra Nevada community. She couldn’t bear the thought of leaving, but the flames were everywhere.

Related: ‘I still feel it isn’t real’: Gold Rush town residents reckon with wildfire devastation

White House press secretary Jen Psaki clarified the president’s earlier comments praising Andrew Cuomo’s legacy as governor.

Earlier, a reporter had asked Joe Biden to assess Cuomo’s decade-long career as governor. “I thought he’s done a hell of a job – and both on everything from access to voting to infrastructure to a whole range of things. That’s why it’s so sad,” Biden responded.

@potus responded to a specific question today about @NYGovCuomo work on infrastructure. He also made clear it was right for @NYGovCuomo to step down, reiterated his support for women who come forward, and made clear you can’t separate personal behavior from other work.

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Senate convenes for rare weekend session over infrastructure deal

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  • Schumer: ‘We’re going to get the job done’
  • Republican Cornyn predicts a long ‘grind’

The Senate convened for a rare weekend session on Saturday with the majority leader, Chuck Schumer, encouraging the authors of a bipartisan infrastructure plan to finish writing their bill.

Related: Trump tries to defend ‘just say the election was corrupt’ demand to DoJ

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‘Such a moron’: Pelosi heaps disdain on McCarthy for criticizing mask guidance

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  • Kevin McCarthy: mask policy a political decision by Democrats
  • Capitol physician reimposes mask requirement for the House

The House speaker, Nancy Pelosi, on Wednesday heaped disdain on the Republican minority leader’s criticism of Congress’s new mask requirement – a reversal of policy that reflected growing number of cases and fears about the highly-transmissible Covid-19 Delta variant at the Capitol.

Related: Bipartisan group reaches agreement on ‘major issues’ of infrastructure bill, Republican says – live

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Pelosi will ask anti-Trump Republican Kinzinger to join 6 January panel

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The speaker of the US House, Nancy Pelosi, intends to appoint a second anti-Trump Republican to the select committee which will investigate the deadly 6 January assault on the US Capitol by supporters of Donald Trump.

Related: Can Pelosi’s power play on Capitol attack panel thwart wrecking tactics?

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Alabama governor joins growing number of Republicans urging Americans to get vaccinated – live

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  • Covid cases likely to accelerate through summer, new forecasts say
  • CDC director warns Americans in ‘another pivotal moment’ in pandemic

As the Tokyo Olympics opening ceremony comes to an end, First Lady Jill Biden cheers from the stands. On Saturday, she is expected to attend the USA v France women’s 3x3 basketball game and the USA v Nw Zealand women’s soccer game.

. @FLOTUS stands to cheer as #TeamUSA enters the arena. pic.twitter.com/XM0xiSzqxb

First Lady @DrBiden will attend the following Olympic events in Tokyo on Saturday, per the White House:

- USA v France women's 3x3 basketball game
- Various swimming races
- USA v New Zealand women's soccer game

The bust of a man who was a Confederate general, Ku Klux Klan leader and slave trader was removed from the Tennessee state capitol this morning, a year after the governor said it was high time it was gone.

Nathan Bedford Forrest had been immortalized at the Tennessee capitol in Nashville since the late 1970s.

HAPPENING NOW: Crews are starting the process of removing the Nathan Bedford Forrest bust from the capitol. @WKRN #GMN pic.twitter.com/8HwOG3zsoY

The State Building Commission on Thursday gave approval for the relocation of the Forrest bust to the Tennessee State Museum, a final step in a process that has taken more than a year since Gov. Bill Lee first said it was time for the statue to be moved.

“It’s been a year long journey, and this is an appropriate step in that process,” Lee said prior to the Building Commission meeting Thursday morning. “It’s most important to me that we followed the process. We talked about that from the very beginning.”

The bust of Confederate Gen. and KKK leader Nathan Bedford Forrest is off its pedestal and being wheeled out of the Tennessee Capitol. pic.twitter.com/dgAg4isvxw

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Joyce Beatty arrested during voting rights protest at US Capitol – video

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Congresswoman Joyce Beatty, a Democrat from Ohio and chair of the Congressional Black Caucus, was one of nine people arrested during a voting rights protest at the US Capitol on Thursday. Beatty was participating in a protest calling for the Senate to pass a sweeping election reform bill. The bill passed the House in March but is being held up in the Senate because of a Republican filibuster. Beatty and others were arrested by Capitol police for 'demonstrating in a prohibited area on Capitol grounds', said police

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Democratic congresswoman arrested during voting rights protest at Capitol

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Joyce Beatty, chair of Congressional Black Caucus, was calling on the Senate to pass a key election reform bill

Congresswoman Joyce Beatty, a Democrat of Ohio, was one of nine people arrested during a voting rights protest at the Capitol this afternoon.

Beatty, who serves as the chair of the Congressional Black Caucus, shared a photo on Twitter of US Capitol police (USCP) officers putting a zip-tie on her and escorting her out of the building.

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Biden to visit Miami on Thursday as 150 still missing after condo collapse – live

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Here’s where the day stands so far:

The mayor of Miami-Dade county said there were no new fatalities confirmed today, as search-and-rescue efforts continue at the site of the Surfside condo collapse.

The mayor, Daniella Levine Cava, added that each of the families of the 11 confirmed victims have been notified.

Miami-Dade County mayor updates on building collapse:

- No new fatalities confirmed since last briefing
- Families of all 11 deceased victims have been notified
- 210 people working on mound
- Pres. Biden to meet with families, first respondershttps://t.co/lHgwAdKz7Z pic.twitter.com/qC3naJmNti

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‘Republicans are defunding the police’: Fox News anchor stumps congressman

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The Fox News anchor Chris Wallace made headlines of his own on Sunday, by pointing out to a senior Republican that he and the rest of his party recently voted against $350bn in funding for law enforcement.

Related: Keith Ellison urges Congress to act on stalled police reform after Chauvin sentencing

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Joe Biden signs bill making Juneteenth a federal holiday – as it happened

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A Republican congressman “ran as quickly as he could, like a coward” when a police officer injured in the attack on Congress on 6 January saw him and tried to shake his hand, the officer said.

“I was very cordial,” Michael Fanone told CNN on Wednesday of his interaction with Andrew Clyde, in a Capitol elevator earlier that day.

Related: Officer injured in Capitol attack says Republican ran from him ‘like a coward’

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Marjorie Taylor Greene apologizes for comparing House mask rule to the Holocaust

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Apology came after the extremist Republican congresswoman visited Washington’s US Holocaust Memorial Museum

Marjorie Taylor Greene, the extremist Republican congresswoman, has apologized for her comments comparing the required wearing of safety masks in the US House to the horrors of the Holocaust.

“I’m truly sorry for offending people with remarks about the Holocaust,” Taylor Greene told reporters outside the Capitol on Monday, saying she had visited Washington’s US Holocaust Memorial Museum earlier in the day. “There’s no comparison and there never ever will be.“

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FBI chief calls Capitol attack domestic terrorism and rejects Trump’s fraud claims

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Christopher Wray faces grilling from Democratic lawmakers over lead-up to 6 January insurrection

The FBI director, Christopher Wray, has said that the bureau considers the 6 January Capitol attack an act of “domestic terrorism” and suggested that “serious charges” were still to come in its continuing criminal investigation.

Testifying before Congress on Thursday, the director rubbished Donald Trump’s claims about a stolen presidential election. “We did not find evidence of fraud that could have changed the outcome of the election,” he told lawmakers on the House judiciary committee.

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Republicans propose nearly $1tn counteroffer to Biden’s infrastructure plan – live

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Democratic Senator Bob Casey signaled this morning that it may be time to move on from negotiating with Republicans and instead pass an infrastructure bill using reconciliation, allowing Democrats to circumvent the Senate filibuster.

Asked whether it was time to focus on setting up a reconciliation pathway for the infrastructure bill, Casey told CNN anchor Jim Sciutto, “I think we’re getting to that point, Jim. It’s an old expression, fish or cut bait.”

Me: “IS IT TIME TO MOVE ON TO RECONCILIATION (on infrastructure)?”@SenBobCasey: “I THINK WE'RE GETTING TO THAT POINT, JIM. IT'S AN OLD EXPRESSION, FISH OR CUT BAIT” pic.twitter.com/T0HLUKygrL

The Guardian’s Sam Levine and Daniel Strauss report:

After six months of aggressive Republican efforts to restrict voting access, Democrats are facing new questions about how they will actually pass voting rights reforms through Congress.

Related: ‘A ticking timebomb’: Democrats’ push for voting rights law faces tortuous path

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‘Slap in the face’: Congressman rails against Republicans as House approves Capitol probe – video

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The US House of Representatives has passed a bill that would create a 9/11-style commission to investigate the deadly attack on the Capitol in January. Thirty-five Republicans joined Democrats in passing the measure, with the vote largely falling along party lines. A total of 175  Republicans voted against the bill, with Democrat congressman Tim Ryan saying it was 'slap in the face to every rank and file cop in the United States'. Republicans in leadership have played down the violence of the Capitol riot that left five people dead


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Investigate the Capitol attack? Republicans prefer to back the big lie

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The vast majority of House Republicans voted against a bipartisan, 9/11-style panel – no surprise from a party still in thrall to Trump

“Tuesday, September 11, 2001, dawned temperate and nearly cloudless in the eastern United States.” So begins the report of the 9/11 commission, which investigated the terrorist attacks 20 years ago with bipartisan support.

Will there be a similarly limpid introduction to a similarly weighty (567 pages) study of the deadly insurrection at the US Capitol in Washington on 6 January? Not if Republicans can help it.

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‘I still smell smoke and see fire’: Tulsa massacre survivor, 107, testifies to US Congress – video

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Viola Fletcher, the oldest living survivor of the Tulsa, Oklahoma, massacre, was seven when a white mob attacked the city’s 'Black Wall Street' in 1921, killing an estimated 300 African Americans.

For decades, the atrocity on Greenwood Avenue was actively covered up. On Wednesday, Fletcher appeared before a House of Representatives judiciary subcommittee considering legal remedies. Fletcher, who was a domestic worker for most of her life, said she was seeking justice and referred to the 'daily horror' inflicted on black people in the US

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Liz Cheney defiant over Trump as Republican civil war heats up

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Liz Cheney has become the figurehead of the conservative Never Trumpers – but the Wyoming congresswoman was for the former president in the last election.

Related: Can ‘Never Trump’ Republicans gain party control – or is it a lost cause?

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Will Republicans back a commission to investigate the Capitol breach?

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Lawmakers faced with choice between embarrassing Trump and ignoring insurrection

House Democrats are poised to adopt legislation to create a 9/11-style commission to investigate the Capitol attack, in a move that will force Republicans to either embrace an inquiry that could embarrass Donald Trump – or turn a blind eye to a deadly insurrection.

Related: Liz Cheney: McCarthy should testify about Trump’s views on Capitol attack

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Liz Cheney: McCarthy should testify about Trump’s views on Capitol attack

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Lawmakers agree to create bipartisan commission to investigate breach but questions remain over GOP support

The Republican House minority leader, Kevin McCarthy, should testify before the commission to investigate the 6 January Capitol attack, the Wyoming representative Liz Cheney said on Friday, because he has “said publicly that he’s got information about the president’s state of mind that day”.

Related: ‘It’s hard to look at’: Donald Trump makes National Portrait Gallery debut

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